Outdoor Notebook: Grand slam

While I do the bulk of my fishing in New York, every year I get to do some fishing in three other states.

I always fish in Massachusetts and Vermont while I visit family on summer vacation, and I usually take advantage of free fishing days to try my luck in Pennsylvania.

It's usually Vermont where I fail to catch any "keepers" but I landed a dandy smallmouth bass in the Green Mountain State this year, along with another nice bronzeback in Massachusetts, so all I needed to complete my slam was a big 'un from Pa.

As the July 4th holiday is one of two fish for free days in the Keystone State, I figured Saturday was my shot.

I wasn't sure if I would get that shot as it was pouring rain when I got up Saturday morning, but the forecast said it would clear up so Carol and I packed our fishing gear and provisions and headed south.

We started at Mountain Lake, a lovely little piece of water near Burlington in Bradford County.

Carol caught a few fat bluegills and we saw a guy on the next dock over land a pretty good-sized trout, but I came up empty.

From there we spent over an hour at an unnamed (as far as I know) pond on some state game lands off Route 6 and I finally hooked an 11-inch bass.

Eventually we ended up on Steven Foster Lake at Mt. Pisgah State Park, where Carol and I both landed some lunkers last year.

It only took me about 10 minutes to land another bass, although it wasn't quite the wall hanger I was hoping for.

(Photo: JEFF MURRAY PHOTO)

I caught another one about the same size a short time later, and then as it got closer to dusk, I finally hooked a better bass. This plump dude slammed my rattler only a few feet from shore. In fact, I thought at first I had gotten snagged on some rocks before he broke water.

(Photo: JEFF MURRAY PHOTO)

While I was catching my bass, Carol was hooking and losing what she said felt like a heavy fish a few hundred yards south of me. Then she caught a consolation bass.

(Photo: JEFF MURRAY PHOTO)

I caught one more smaller bass as the light faded and lost two or three others. But it was a great day and I can't think of a better way to celebrate Independence Day than by enjoying the Great Outdoors with my favorite fishing partner.